Around Calgary

Ghost Lake

We have to stop in Calgary to pick up a package of the utmost importance: the entire school year's curriculum — first grade for Alice and third grade for Juju and Alex — from the CNED (the French distance-learning school)!
OK, so we show up at FedEx in Calgary on Saturday, August 4 at 6:30 p.m., they close at 6:00, and it's the start of a long weekend (really?). Monday is a holiday here.
A nice guy at FedEx tells us we can enjoy our weekend in Calgary, but doesn't give us our package!
Calgary is actually a peculiar city, still under construction. For the first time in Canada, we don't feel safe in the public parks we explore looking for a spot to camp for the night.
The urban planning here is completely nuts. Canadians, who have the second-largest country in the world (after Russia), cram themselves into tiny, fully fenced subdivisions.
The French rule for spacing houses (the gap must be at least half the building's height) is unheard of here: the roofs of these (upscale) homes are barely 3 feet apart. It's borderline ridiculous!

Honestly, we just don't "get" this city. We don't understand it.

After grocery shopping, we really thought we'd spend our first night in a Walmart parking lot.
But we're not the Guyots for nothing — the "charm" of a supermarket parking lot leaves us skeptical. At 10 p.m., with the kids in bed, we pull our jeans back on and, after all those miles of prairie, hit the road again looking for a place to camp (yes, we're a little crazy).

We stop right at the entrance to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park. "OK, no camping in the park, but Mr. Ranger, we're just outside the gate!" Nope, no joking around — the tow truck is breathing down our necks, so we pull our jeans back on and hit the road again! On the road again. Stupid ranger!

We arrive, exhausted, at 12:30 a.m. in a deserted parking lot with a sign: Ghost Lake. The kids are still asleep, all is well. At night, the place is... ghostly!

Big surprise the next morning: we're parked on the shore of a lake, and all the locals are showing up with their boats and canoes to spend the day!
We end up staying 2 days. On the agenda: washing, washing (it's pretty classy having a washing machine and being totally self-sufficient)!
The kids build teepees out of big pieces of driftwood. We wait calmly for Tuesday, swimming in Ghost Lake.

FedEx, the sequel. That's it — we've got The Package.
Juju did try a "I want to keep driving today! – Aren't you sick of driving, Juliette? – No, 'cause this way we get farther from Calgary and we don't pick up the package!"
Alex stayed hidden in KIFONS, like "I don't want to see this!" Alice wasn't exactly thrilled either. We finally have everything! The 33 pounds of CNED coursework find a home in KIFONS. Here we go with Mr. Henri and Mrs. Maggy, 2 hours a day!

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

We hit the road again, heading for "Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump," a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What we actually visit is a big cliff where the Indians used to hunt bison. A very promising site!
We were disappointed. And we're not the only ones. Several Canadians are complaining at the front desk. With a heritage like that, it wouldn't be hard to put together a few decent activities.
We spend the night of August 7 at Chain Lakes Provincial Park: a lovely stop, a refreshing swim, a nice quiet little campground.

Bar U Ranch

After the Indians, the cowboys!
Next stop: Bar U Ranch, the historic Western Canadian ranch and National Historic Site, a really neat place whose mission is to keep alive the story of the men who built Alberta: the cowboys of Western Canada.

Lasso throwing, wagon rides with real cowboys, hot chocolate made over a campfire, and all the gear you need to become a real, proper cowboy: we spend a lovely day here!

After a good picnic, on to the Rockies! Banff, here we come!

"You'll see, Mag, the Rockies are amazing! Lake Louise, Moraine Lake..."